On Thu, 27 Apr 2017 07:53:18 -0400, songbird
wrote:

Boron Elgar wrote:
...
I have used the un-potting-wash-down-to-the-roots method for some
hefty plants and some smaller ones over the years. Never added
insecticides to the task, but have had success wioth just the
hose-down..

a major mess and disturbance for a large
plant.

a general purpose insecticide may not work
you have to actually get enough poison to the
queen who is laying the eggs and if the poison
is too strong it will kill the workers before
they feed it to the queen.

there are ant poisons and baits which work
well. just use one of those. they are not
expensive and what is good about them is that
they are only picked up by and affect the ants
in question and not everything else. often it
can be done without using too much poison, but
you must keep the bait station filled up as
long as the ants keep taking it. may be a week
or two before you stop seeing the ants.


songbird


There was no reason to use any insecticide. These are large,
warm-weather trees (various citrus, fig, bougainvillea) that I bring
inside for my NE winters. It isn't hard to roll the tub on its side,
pull the plant out, and hose off the dirt and examine the roots
before re-potting.

I am not against using chems when needed - not at all - but this
works well for me when it happens.